I meant to write about this last week but the whole work thing kept getting in the way…

Last Monday I spent the day at MGM Studios with my best friend and her entire family, all of whom I’ve known for more than 30 years. All around, an absolutely excellent time.

But I arrived at the park a little bit before they did so I decided to hit a few of the rides while I waited. I'm a huge fan of roller coasters so I thought I’d check out the Aerosmith Rock ‘n' Roller Coaster. Because I was a solo act, they paired me up with a kid who was about 11 years old. As I sat down, he immediately asked: “have you been on this before?” When I indicated that this was my first ride, he started to giggle and warned me: “This is a really fast ride.”

I assured him that I was no roller-coaster novice and should be able to handle it. As I sat down, I put my backpack on the floor by my feet. I quickly realized that was a mistake, since the harness went over my head and shoulders, thus indicating the ride would be going upside down.

So as the roller coaster was rolling up to its starting position, I was furiously trying to grab the backpack, so it didn’t go flying away mid-ride. And that’s when it happened.

One second we were sitting still, and the next I felt like I had been shot from a cannon. This thing just took off. The online description indicates that the ride “zooms from 0-60 mph with the force of a supersonic F-14.” I believe it. I was screaming in a mix of exhilaration and shock. The kid next to me was laughing wildly.

I barely had time to gather myself from the breathless beginning, and the next thing you know we were upside down. And then again, and again. The whole ride couldn’t have lasted more than 60 seconds. But I would have been hard-pressed to correctly spell my first name upon stepping off the ride.

Don’t think this means I didn’t ride it again. We rode it several more times after the entire group got there. Excellent, excellent ride. But consider yourself warned. It IS really fast.